Madrid: Real Madrid’s remarkable 40-game unbeaten run stretching back to April 6, 2016 ended in dramatic fashion Sunday when Sevilla’s Stevan Jovetic struck in added time to snatch a 2-1 win and blow the La Liga title race wide open.
Real looked set to go five points clear of rivals Barcelona at the top when Cristiano Ronaldo scored a record-equalling 56th La Liga penalty to give them the lead in the 67th minute.
But Sevilla drew level five minutes from time thanks to an own goal by their former defender Sergio Ramos, whose every touch had been mercilessly booed by the home fans. New signing Jovetic then completed the fightback when he bent in a shot from outside the area, three days after scoring against Real Madrid on his debut in the Copa del Rey game which ended in a 3-3 draw.
Real Madrid remain top on 40 points but saw their lead over Sevilla cut to one point, although they have a game in hand over both the Andalusians and Barcelona, who are third on 38.
“The result changes nothing. We played well against a great side and did the hardest thing to do which was to score and then with only a few minutes to go, they caught us out twice,” coach Zinedine Zidane said. “We feel disappointed but I feel very proud of everyone for what we did up until now. We must simply put this defeat behind us and work that much harder.
Zidane recalled Luka Modric and Ronaldo after resting them Thursday and employed a 3-5-2 shape for the first time this season, making for a far tighter affair than the whirlwind football both sides had served up three days earlier.
The only chance of note in the first half fell to Ronaldo courtesy of a scrambled pass from Karim Benzema but the Portuguese mis-hit his shot, sending it wide.
A tight game was forced open when Sevilla ‘keeper Sergio Rico tripped Dani Carvajal as the latter was about to score. Rico escaped a caution but was powerless to stop Ronaldo’s powerful low spot-kick.
The game was far from over, however. Ramos headed a Pablo Sarabia free-kick into his own net, much to the delight of the Sevilla fans. The home supporters then had one last laugh when Jovetic let fly from outside the box, sending the ball into the far top corner.
Reuters
